Henry s-peelee



@einen ftatre etrnt @ffice HENRY S-PEELER, 0E TREN'lGN, NEW JERSEY.

- Letters .Patent No. 72,694, dated December 24, 186i'.

IMPROVEMENT IN HEATING POTTERY-OVENS AND OTHER LIKE EURNAGES;

TO ALL WHOM I'l MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, HENRY SPEELER, of Trenton, in the county of Mercer, 'and State of NeivJorsey,l have invented a new and useful Mode of Intensifying the Heat in Furnaces; and I do hereby declare *that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which v Figure I is a central vertical longitudinal section of the fire-chambervof a furnace, having my invention applied thereto, and

Figure 2 a front elevation of the same Like letters of reference indicating the same parts lwhenv in-the different figures.

The nature of my invention consists in discharging and using superheated steam in the mass ofthe ignited fuel in the furnace which superheats it, substantially in the manner hereinafter described, for the purpose of more eifectually and rapidly consuming the carbon and hydrogen, and therefore intensifying the heat generated in the said furnace.

-Referring to the drawings, A B is the .fuel or dre-chamber of a furnace without agrate, C' C the steamsupplyingpipes connected therewith, and D the steamreceiving case or tunnel, in which these-id steam is superheated, and from which it is discharged continuously into the mass of the ignited fuel, E. The furnace has openings, a a', in the front wall, which are fitted with close, swinging doors, for :the purpose of affording facility withdrawing the ashes, atmospheric air. being admitted to the fuel E through a series of small air holes, b b", in the front wall, at points above the ash-doors, and the fuel E introduced by dropping-it through a large opening, a, inthe top 4or roof of the furnace, the said opening'being fltted'with a removable cover, 6;

The superheating-case D is a tunnel, made of tire-brick material, and has one end opening through the front l wall of the furnace, so'as to connect with the steam-supplying pipeC, and also extends back along over the longitudinal centre ofthe door of the fire-chamber E, about two-thirds, more or less,'of the-length ofthe latter,v

(see iig. I.) -Its inn'er end is closed steam-tight, with the eirception of a very 4small exit-hole, d', through its closed end, and two or more 'like holes, d d, made laterally through the inner end of the saidtunnel, for the discharge of the superheated steam', in thin streams, into the fuel E. The tunnel D is. supported rmly, at about six or eight inches,-mor or less, above the floor of the Jdre-chamber A B, by means of fire-bricks, or otherwise,

so as to subjectit to as much of the` heatof the combustibles as may be required to superheat the steam without fusing the tunnel. The steam'is introduced into the tunnel D, from any suitable boiler, lby means of steampipes, C C, connecting the Asame together, so thata full supply of the steam will be affordedI to the tunnel D, as the said steam hecomes'superheated therein, and continuously discharged therefrom through the holes d d, inte the massof the incandescent fuel E, -as indicated bythe arrows in fig. 1.

In the operationof my inventionLas describedLthe atmospheric air, entering through the holes fb gives ignition and the usual support to thej combustion of thefuel E,until thecase or trunk D has become sufficiently heated 4to Superheat the steam passing through it, and when this is effected, the streams of sup-erheated steam'discharged froml the trunk D, through the small exit-holes eZ d, become decomposedand the hydrogen instantly consumed with the vola'tlized carbon of' the fuel, bythe resultant oxygen, and the oxygen of the atmospheric air entering through the holes b Il', thus consuming all the combustible matter, and producing the most intense degree of heat, while all the light and rising incombustible matter of the fuel escapes with the draught through the main flue of the furnace to the chimney.

This isa very important invention, as the heat produced-vv'ithjnI given amount of coal is much greater than heretofore, and is so intense that the usual elinkers are prevented, or rapidly reduced almost to a powder, and, with tho/ashes, cnn he easily withdrawn through the openings a a', the incandescent fuel alone forming, as it does, :mai-ch, ivhich supports itself and the fuel above in the mean time, and thus allows the operation to be effected without the aid of grate-bars. There is, therefore, a saving in coal, which I find, by experience, to be at least thirtythree per cent., and also agreat saving in the labor and time heretofore required in removing the clinkers and ashes.

My invention is peculiarly adapted to furnaces in the manufacture of Crockery-wares, fire-brick, and similar manufactories, for clay, porcelain, and, the like, and the within-described furnace is substantially the sume as thosev used insaid manufactories. l

y What I claim, and desire to secure-by Letters Patent, is-

Asteam-pipe, in combination with a tire-mouth, for heatingpottery-ovens, kilns, and for other like ovens, sub stantially as described. I

` HENRY SPEELER. Witnesses:

` Beur. MonrsoN,

W. H. Morrison. 

